minister said that the current protocol is not respected by Turkey. No real efforts are made by Turkey to stop or hinder the human traffickers. No sanctions, no controls. Although the current protocol does not prejudice the obligation to conclude an EU-Turkey agreement on readmission, such an agreement has not been signed yet due to the unwillingness of Turkey to enter into such an agreement. He stressed the need of moving the negotiations on a EU-Turkey readmission agreement forward. However, it has been confirmed that migrants are being expelled to Turkey whenever possible. It has to be said that the delegation has serious doubts whether the current practices fit within the framework of international conventions and agreements. The minister also said that the influx of migrants is a European/international responsibility. Conflicts all over the world with great international involvement trigger such influxes. If for example Turkey were to invade Northern Iraq, one could expect an increase of migrants. Furthermore, it is important to cut the flow at the source. People leave because they are poor and desperate. An EU policy towards the countries of origin is of utmost importance. It all depends on something which cannot be controlled by an individual Member State such as Greece. The minister called upon the delegation to take into account the efforts Greece is undertaking right now (building of new centres, improving institutional arrangements etc.). The ministry is providing Prefectural Self-administration with the necessary credits in order to cover the operational costs. The same Ministry is also financing (yet again, exclusively from national resources) the construction of new reception centres as well as improvements to all kinds of existing infrastructures. The new centre of Kyprinos in the Prefecture of Evros already functions and the new centre in Vathy, Prefecture of Samos, is expected to be completed soon. The works for the construction of a new centre in Chalkida, Prefecture of Evia, are expected to be under way this year. As Greece was a country of emigration in the past, most Greek people are highly sensitive to the migration-issues, he said. He stated that a lot has been achieved over the past three years. However, the problems cannot be solved by an individual Member State. 11. Conclusions 1. The mass arrival of asylum seekers and irregular migrants has become a regular phenomenon, creating enormous challenges for receiving countries (in this case: Greece) in terms of accommodating these arrivals and also processing them. 2. In general, the arrival and reception of asylum seekers and migrants as well as the return of irregular migrants raise important humanitarian and protection concerns. 3. Like Malta, Cyprus, Spain and Italy - Greece has a genuine problem of influx of migrants, including significant numbers with prima facie protection needs under international law. On the basis of our visit, it cannot be confirmed that the Greek authorities have the situation (both at the point of arrival and in later stages) under control. 4. The circumstances/conditions in the old (however, currently in use) centre on Samos are squalid, deplorable, inhuman and unacceptable. The centre should be closed immediately and the new centre should be opened as soon as possible with sufficient funding, the right PE 392.010v02-00 EN 10/16 PV\675423EN.doc